There are no half measures in Vancouver. This city wants to be a leader in everything considered good and proper by its lefty city council. The bad must be eliminated. First thing former organic farmer Gregor Robertson did when elected mayor in 2008? Launch his plan to end homelessness. Vancouver also aims to be the “greenest city in the world” by 2020. Last week, a world-exclusive cigarette butt recycling program was introduced with fanfare. While these are ambitious, well-intentioned things, results are hard to gauge. They do attract attention.

“The homesteader began with a tent, then a log shanty with a sod roof, which was fine in the winter but leaked like a sieve once spring arrived,” wrote Aritha Van Her about the early settlers of Western Canada, in her book Mavericks.

The challenges faced by many newcomers built a character that we still see throughout much of Western Canada today. Although life was hard, at least the government tended to leave people alone, so they could be free to earn a living and raise a family on the fruits of their labour.

But two months ago, unknown to most Vancouverites, their city council approved another world-beating measure: Rejection of the common doorknob.

Starting March 2014, all new single family houses and town homes built in the city must eschew the traditional round door opener for handle levers. The doorknob prohibition comes as part of an amendment package to the city’s Building By-law, legislation which the city claims is already “unique in the Province and also unusual in the rest of Canada.” If not the entire world.

Vancouver’s incomparable Building By-law allows its council “to be responsive to local issues impacting building safety much more quickly than other municipalities,” it is claimed.

That’s great, but really, what do doorknobs have to do with safety? Nothing at first glance, perhaps. But like every other community in Canada, Vancouver has an aging population. To someone old and frail, turning doorknobs isn’t always easy. Which is nothing new, but Vancouver finally doing something about it.

Some Building By-law amendments that passed council muster back in September are part of yet another program — the Age-Friendly Action Plan — hatched by the city’s current administration. It’s aimed at making Vancouver “a more safe, inclusive and engaging city for all seniors.” A host of other changes and building requirements are being introduced, including wider door frames, mandatory installation of bathroom faucet levers, and minimum height standards for electrical outlets, all to help remove obstacles for seniors and the disabled.

Other amendments included energy saving measures for residential and commercial building renovation and construction. There’s a cost, of course, borne by the builder, and then the occupant, but these are to be recovered over time by energy reduction savings.

Like a lot of initiatives put to council, the latest cluster of Building By-law amendments “went through very quietly” says Vancouver councillor Geoff Meggs, the mayor’s close ally. There is no hidden agenda, he insists. The by-law amendments aren’t reflective of some “lunatic interventionist” strategy or “red tape run amok,” he says.

“This is all about [enhancing] accessibility, and it’s something we’re going to keep doing. I’m not going to apologize for that,” says Mr. Meggs.

Sharp-eyed citizens already knew something was up with doorknobs; the city mandated the use of lever handles on new multi-residential construction. This was some time ago. No one at city hall can recall precisely when. A National Post request for initial doorknob replacement program information was processed Tuesday, and then, it seems, forgotten.

Traditionalists can take heart: The doorknob ban applies to new buildings only

The latest by-law amendments — banning doorknobs from new single family units — were the subject of a Vancouver Sun article in September, before council approved their recommendation from city staff. On Saturday, the newspaper published a more focused, in-depth article about the doorknob’s looming demise. This time, the greater public did take notice.

“Its future has been date-marked, legislated out of existence in all future construction, a tip to society’s quest for universal design and the easier-to-use lever handle,” wrote the Sun‘s city hall reporter, Jeff Lee. “And as it goes, so will it go in B.C., Canada, and perhaps even the world,” he added. This is Vancouver, after all, an agenda-ridden city that others can only hope to follow.

Staff at city hall are now taking calls from citizens inquiring about where they might obtain doorknobs already removed — voluntarily — from Vancouver’s 77-year-old art-deco headquarters. Mr. Meggs has himself fielded a number of requests. “There’s been no outrage,” he says. Discussions are currently underway regarding the equitable and carbon neutral distribution of all that vintage city hardware.

Meanwhile, traditionalists can take heart: The doorknob ban applies to new buildings only; it isn’t retroactive. Existing old school fixtures will stick around forever. Or until we forget how to operate them.

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